Well pumping system with parallel jet pumps

ABSTRACT

A well pumping system which includes a pump unit movable into and out of a well hydraulically and including a plurality of jet pumps connected in parallel. The jet pumps receive power fluid from a common power tubing through which the pump unit is movable between the surface and its operating position. The jet pumps discharge pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid into a common production tubing leading to the surface, the production tubing being the well casing in the particular embodiment disclosed.

United States Patent [191 Brown et al.

[4 1 Dec. 25, 1973 2,812,723 11/1957 Coberly 417/189 1,845,675 2/1932 Martin 417/176 X 2,041,803 5/1936 Wolff 4l7/l76 X 2,682,225 6/1954 Coberly t 7 417/176 X 676,239 6/1901 Labadie 417/176 Primary Examiner-William L. Freeh AttorneyFord Wv Harris, Jr. et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A well pumping system which includes a pump unit movable into and out of a well hydraulically and including a plurality of jet pumps connected in parallel. The jet pumps receive power fluid from a common power tubing through which the pump unit is movable between the surface and its operating position. The jet pumps discharge pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid into a common production tubing leading to the surface, the production tubing being the well casing in the particular embodiment disclosed.

5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTED [JECZS I975 smears WELL PUMPING SYSTEM WITH PARALLEL JET PUMPS BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The present invention relates in general to an oil well pump unit which is movable hydraulically between the surface and its operating position in the well, the pump unit incorporating a jet pump receiving power fluid from a power tubing. and discharging pressurized well fluidand spent power fluid into a production tubing.

Still more particularly, the invention relates to a pump unit of the general type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,812,723, issued Nov. 12, 1957 to Clarence J. Coberly.

A jet pump unit of the character disclosed by the foregoing Coberly patent is limited in its pumping capacity because of the fact that there is a definite practical limit to the velocity at which fluid can be made to flow through the intake passages, which limit dictates the largest throat and nozzle combination that can be used; This in turn limits the maximum capacity of a singlestage.

SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF INVENTION With the foregoingbackground in mind, the primary object of the present invention is to provide a jet pumping system having a greatly increased pumping capacity compared to a single jet.

More particularly, an important object of the invention is to provide a jet pumping system wherein the pump unit includes a plurality of jet pumps arranged end to end one above the other.

Another important object is to provide plural jet pumps connected in parallel, the jet pumps all receiving power fluid from a common power tubing and discharging a mixture of a pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid into a common production tubing. Thus, the capacities of the individual jet pumps are additive to achieve a high total capacity.

The invention may be summarized as a well pumping system which includes, and another object is to provide a well pumping system including: power and production tubings set in a well; a bottom hole housing connected to the lower end of the power tubing and providing a pump chamber in alignment with the power tubing; a standing valve carried by the bottom hole housing at the lower end of the pump chamber in alignment with the pump chamber, and providing a pump seat; a pump unit of a size to move from the surface through the power tubing into the pump chamber and to seat on the pump seat; the pump unit including downwardly directed jet pumps arranged end to end one above the other; each of the jet pumps having an inlet for power fluid adjacent its upper end, an inlet for fluid from the well below the power fluid inlet, and a production fluid outlet adjacent its lower end for a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid; each of the jet pumps having downwardly directed jet means receiving power fluid from the power fluid inlet for pumping well fluid from the well fluid inlet and for discharging a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid from the production fluid outlet; the pump unit having passage means connecting the power tubing to the powerfluid inlet of the uppermost of the jet pumps; the bottom hole housing having passage means connecting the power tubing to the power fluid inlets of the jet pumps below the uppermost; the bottom hole housing having passage means connecting the standing valve to the well fluid inlets; and the bottom hole housing having passage means connecting the production fluid outlets to the production tubing. A related object is to provide a well pumping system of the foregoing nature wherein the production tubing is simply the well casing. Y

The foregoing objects, advantages, features and re sults of the present invention, together with various other objects, advantages, features and results of the invention which will be evident to those skilled in the jet pumping art in the light of this disclosure, may be achieved with the exemplary embodiment of the invention described in detail hereinafter and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a well pumping system which embodies the invention and is taken as indicated by the irregular arrowed line ll of FIG. 5;

FIG. 2 is a downward continuation of FIG. 1 and is taken as indicated bythe irregular arrowed line 2-2 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 3 is a downward continuation of FIG. 2 and is taken as indicated by the irregular arrowed line 3-3 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 4 is a downward continuation of FIG. 3 and is taken as indicated by the irregular arrowed line 4-4 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken as indicated by the arrowed line 55 of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are horizontal sectional views respectively taken as indicated by the arrowed lines 6-6 and 7-7 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal sectional view taken as indicated by the arrowed line 8-8 of FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 9 and 10 are horizontal sectional views respectively taken as indicated by the arrowed lines 99 and l0- 10 of FIG. 4 of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLARY EMBODIMENT OF INVENTION In the drawings, the numeral 20 designates a casing which is set in an oil well and which is provided with perforations, not shown, to admit well fluid. As will be discussed hereinafter, the well casing in the particular embodiment under consideration serves as a production tubing for pumped well fluid and spent power fluid.

Suspended in the casing 20 is a power tubing 22 having a bottom hole housing 24 connected to its lower end. The bottom hole housing 24 provides a pump chamber 26 in alignment with the power tubing 22. A standing valve 28, FIG. 4, is carried by the bottom hole housing 24 at the lower end of and in alignment with the pump chamber 26. The standing valve 28 provides a pump seat 30.

The standing valve 29 is disposed in a well fluid inlet pipe 32 which is connected to and depends from the bottom hole housing 24 in alignment with the pump chamber 26. The inlet pipe 32 is provided with a laterally offset portionwhich is centered in the casing 20 and which carries a packer 34 in engagement with the casing. The packer 34 isolates the portion of the casing 20 thereabove to permit its use as the production tubing, as hereinbefore indicated. The perforated portion, not shown, of the casing is below the packer 34.

Movable through the power tubing 22 into the pump chamber 26, and adapted to seat on the pump seat 30, is a pump unit 40 which includes three downwardly directed jet pumps 42, 44 and 46 arranged end to end one above the other. The pumps 42, 44 and 46 respectively include at their upper ends power fluid inlets 52, 54 and 56. The pumps 42, 44 and 46 are provided below their respective power fluid inlets 52, 54 and 56 with well fluid inlets 62, 64 and 66. Adjacent the lower ends of the respective pumps 42, 44 and 46 are production fluid outlets 72, 74 and 76. The pumps 42, 44 and 46 respectively have jet means 82, 84 and 86 receiving power fluid from the respective power fluid inlets 52, 54 and 56. In the particular construction illustrated, these jet means are all downwardly directed, but some or all can be upwardly directed. The respective jet means 82, 84 and 86 take well fluid from the well fluid inlets 62, 64 and 66, and discharge mixtures of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid from the production fluid outlets 72, 74 and 76.

The jet means 82, 84 and 86 respectively comprise downwardly directed jet elements 92, 94 and 96 above the respective well fluid inlets 62, 64 and 66, and diffusers 102, 104 and 106 below the respective well fluid inlets. The respective jet pumps 42, 44 and 46 operate in substantially the same manner as the jet pump disclosed in the aforementioned Coberly patent. Consequently, a further description herein is not necessary.

The pump unit 40 is provided at its upper end with a passage means 112 which connects the power tubing 22 to the power fluid inlet 52 of the upper pump 42. The bottom hole housing 24 is provided therein with passage means 114 and 116 respectively conveying power fluid from the power tubing 22 to the power fluid inlets 54 and 56 of the middle and lower pumps 44 and 46. As will be clear from the drawings, each passage means 114 and 116 includes a series of ports, bores, pipes, and the like, which need not be described in detail.

As will be understood, fluid from the well passes through the inlet pipe 32 and the standing valve 28, which prevents back flow. The well fluid flowing upwardly through the standing valve 28 enters the lower end of the pump chamber 26 through an inlet fitting 118 at the lower end of the pump unit 40, this inlet fitting being seated on the pump seat provided by the standing valve 28.

The bottom hole housing 24 is provided therein with well fluid inlet passage means 122, 124 and 126 respectively connecting the lower end of the pump chamber 26 to the well fluid inlets 62, 64 and 66. As will again be clear from the drawings, the passage means 122, 124 and 126 comprise various ports, bores, pipes, annuli between the pump chamber 26 and the pump unit 40, and the like. Consequently, it is unnecessary to describe these passage means in detail.

Similarly, the bottom hole housing 24 is provided therein with production fluid outlet passage means 132, 134 and 136 respectively connecting the production fluid outlets 72, 74 and 76 to the production tubing or casing '20. These passage means comprise primarily ports extending horizontally outwardly from the production fluid outlets 72, 74 and 76 to the exterior ofthe bottom hole housing 24, and need not be described in detail.

The pump unit 40 is adapted to be circulated into and out of the well hydraulically. ln running the pump unit 40 in, it is inserted into the upper end of the power tubing 22 and power fluid is introduced into the power tubing above the pump unit. Fluid in the power tubing 22 below the pump unit 40 is displaced into the casing 20. Ultimately, the pump unit 40 reaches the pump chamber 26 and seats on the pump seat 30. In operation, the pump unit 40 is held down by the pressure of the power fluid in the power tubing 22 thereabove, as is well known in the art.

In order to run the pump unit 40 out of the well hydraulically, fluid under pressure is introduced into the casing 20 at its upper end. This forces the fluid in the casing through one or more ofthe pumps 42, 44 and 46 into the lower end of the pump chamber 26, thereby displacing the pump unit 40 upwardly. More particularly, the fluid flows from the casing 20 through the passage means 132, 134 and 136, through the jet means 82, 84 and 86, and through the passage means 122, 124 and 126, to the lower end of the pump chamber 26.

The pump unit 40 is provided at its upper end with the usual packer mandrel 138 carrying one or more downwardly facing packer cups 140. The fluid introduced below the pump unit 40 acts upwardly on the pump unit and the packer cups 140 to circulate the pump unit upwardly through the power tubing 22 to the surface.

The packer mandrel 138 is provided with a passage 142 therethrough which conveys the power fluid to the passage means 112, 114 and 116 leading to the power fluid inlets 52, 54 and 56 during operation of the pump unit 40. lf desired, this passage 142 may be equipped with a downwardly opening check valve 144 to prevent upward flow of fluid through the pump unit 40 when circulating the pump unit out of the well. This check valve 144 is not essential since the rate at which fluid will flow upwardly through the various jet elements 92, 94 and 96, when circulating the pump unit 40 out of the well, is relatively small. Any such upward bypassing of the pump unit 40 as it is being circulated out of the well can be overcome readily by increasing the rate of fluid introduction into the casing 20. The provision of the check valve 144 merely permits circulating the pump unit 40 out with less fluid.

Although an exemplary embodiment of the invention has been disclosed for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that various changes, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated in such embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention as de fined by the claims appearing hereinafter.

We claim:

1. In a well pumping system having parallel jet pumps, the combination of:

a. power and production tubings set in a well;

b. a bottom hole housing located alongside a portion of said production tubing and connected to the lower end of said power tubing and providing a pump chamber in alignment with said power tubmg;

c. a standing valve carried by said bottom hole housing at the lower end of said pump chamber in alignment with said pump chamber, and providing a pump seat;

d. a pump unit of a size to move from the surface through said power tubing into said pump chamber and to seat on said pump seat;

e. said pump unit including jet pumps arranged end toend one above the other;

f. each of said jet pumps having an inlet for power fluid, an inlet for fluid from the well, and a production fluid outlet for a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid;

g. each of said jet pumps having jet means receiving power fluid from said power fluid inlet for pumping well fluid from said well fluid inlet and for discharging a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid from said production fluid outlet;

h. passage means in said pump unit connecting said power tubing to said power fluid inlet of the uppermost of said jet pumps;

'. passage means in said bottom hole housing connecting said power tubing to said power fluid inlet of each of said jet pumps below the uppermost;

'. said bottom hole housing having passage means connecting said standing valve to said well fluid in- .lets and having at its lower end plural passages common to all of said well fluid inlets; and

duction tubing and connected to the lower end of said power tubing and providing a pump chamber in alignment with said power tubing;

c. a standing valve carried by said bottom hole housing at the lower end of said pump chamber in alignment with said pump chamber, and providing a pump seat;

d. a pump unit of a size to move from the surface through said power tubing into said pump chamber and to seat on said pump seat;

e. said pump unit including downwardly directed jet pumps arranged end to end one above the other; f. each of said jet pumps having an inlet for power fluid adjacent its upper end, an inlet for fluid from the well below the power fluid inlet, and a production fluid outlet adjacent its lower end for a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid;

g. each of said jet pumps having downwardly directed jet means receiving power fluid from said power fluid inlet for pumping well fluid from said well fluid inlet and for discharging a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid from said production fluid outlet;

h. said pump unit having passage means connecting said power tubing to said power fluid inlet of the uppermost of said jet pumps;

i. said bottom hole housing having passage means connecting said power tubing to said power fluid inlet of each of said jet pumps below the uppermost;

j. said bottom hole housing having passage means wherein there are at least two of said jet pumps.

5. A well pumping system according to claim 3 wherein said production tubing is a casing in which said power tubing and said bottom hole housing are disposed.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,781,134 D t d December 25, 1973 n' Francis Barton Brown and Vitolis Budrys It is certified that error appears in the ahove-identif d patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown elow:

on Status page, under "References Cited" "3028,804"" (McArthur) should be "3,078 04- Column 5, line 21, after "and" insertu- -(k) said bottom hole housing having laterally-extend g passage means connecting said production fluid out ets to said I production'tubing". a a j Signed and sealed this 18th day of June 1971;.

(SEAL) I Attest: v V v I EDWARD MQFLEICHEm JR. c. MARSHALL mum Attesting Officer; 1 I Commissioner 01f Patents Foam Po-wso (10-69) 

1. In a well pumping system having parallel jet pumps, the combination of: a. power and production tubings set in a well; b. a bottom hole housing located alongside a portion of said production tubing and connected to the lower end of said power tubing and providing a pump chamber in alignment with said power tubing; c. a standing valve carried by said bottom hole housing at the lower end of said pump chamber in alignment with said pump chamber, and providing a pump seat; d. a pump unit of a size to move from the surface through said power tubing into said pump chamber and to seat on said pump seat; e. said pump unit including jet pumps arranged end to end one above the other; f. each of said jet pumps having an inlet for power fluid, an inlet for fluid from the well, and a production fluid outlet for a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid; g. each of said jet pumps having jet means receiving power fluid from said power fluid inlet for pumping well fluid from said well fluid inlet and for discharging a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid from said production fluid outlet; h. passage means in said pump unit connecting said power tubing to said power fluid inlet of the uppermost of said jet pumps; i. passage means in said bottom hole housing connecting said power tubing to said power fluid inlet of each of said jet pumps below the uppermost; j. said bottom hole housing having passage means connecting said standing valve to said well fluid inlets and having at its lower end plural passages common to all of said well fluid inlets; and
 2. A well pumping system as defined in claim 1 including at least three jet pumps and wherein said plural passages include an annular passage between said pump unit and said pump chamber and passages externally of and paralleling said pump chamber.
 3. In a well pumping system having parallel jet pumps, the combination of: a. power and production tubings set in a well; b. a bottom hole housing within a portion of said production tubing and connected to the lower end of said power tubing and providing a pump chamber in alignment with said power tubing; c. a standing valve carried by said bottom hole housing at the lower end of said pump chamber in alignment with said pump chamber, and providing a pump seat; d. a pump unit of a size to move from the surface through said power tubing into said pumP chamber and to seat on said pump seat; e. said pump unit including downwardly directed jet pumps arranged end to end one above the other; f. each of said jet pumps having an inlet for power fluid adjacent its upper end, an inlet for fluid from the well below the power fluid inlet, and a production fluid outlet adjacent its lower end for a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid; g. each of said jet pumps having downwardly directed jet means receiving power fluid from said power fluid inlet for pumping well fluid from said well fluid inlet and for discharging a mixture of pressurized well fluid and spent power fluid from said production fluid outlet; h. said pump unit having passage means connecting said power tubing to said power fluid inlet of the uppermost of said jet pumps; i. said bottom hole housing having passage means connecting said power tubing to said power fluid inlet of each of said jet pumps below the uppermost; j. said bottom hole housing having passage means connecting said standing valve to said well fluid inlets and having at its lower end plural passages common to all of said well fluid inlets; and k. said bottom hole housing having laterally extending passage means connecting said production fluid outlets to said production tubing.
 4. A well pumping system as set forth in claim 3 wherein there are at least two of said jet pumps.
 5. A well pumping system according to claim 3 wherein said production tubing is a casing in which said power tubing and said bottom hole housing are disposed. 